A TikTok star has slammed Southwest Airlines for “slut shaming” her after she was told to cover up her outfit on a flight.
Singer Jacy, who posts as @MaybeJacy, posted a video saying, “Bro I got dress coded on a flight?”
“Are we in high school? Are you upset about my shoulders?” She included footage of her clothing, which was a coral corset-style top and khaki cargo pants or shorts.
“I was basically wearing a corset, I was more clothed than like half of the plane, cause it’s like 103 degrees out so everyone’s wearing shorts and tank tops,” she explained in the caption.
A bystander confirmed the incident had taken place before the Southwest flight took off, at California’s Sacramento Airport.
“So some lady taps on my shoulder and says ‘Do you have a jacket or something? You need to cover up.”
She says the flight attendant went to get her a spare jumper to wear over the top. She was defended by a woman sitting nearby, who was then removed from the flight.
“Anyway this lady sticks up for me - respectfully - sticks up for me to this employee, and then ends up getting kicked off. For what?” she marvelled.
Meanwhile, the woman who was deplaned, Melinna Bobadilla, tweeted about the incident at length.
“Hey friends just got pulled off a @SouthwestAir flight bc I advocated for a young woman being shamed and harassed by an employee for wearing a tank top that was deemed too revealing,” she said.
“[The] employee became defensive when I asked about what rules the young woman was breaking.”
According to Ms Bobadilla, the flight attendant said: “She is wearing a corset and this is a family company. Some people find it offensive.”
”Basically @SouthwestAir slut shamed a young woman of colour for wearing a tank top they deemed offensive, forced her to wear a company issued sweater, removed me for questioning their misogynistic policy, exercised a double standard when enforcing an alleged offensive attire rule.”
She summarised: “The raggedy folks at @SouthwestAir in Sacramento disrespected two women of colour, endangered one by needlessly calling the cops, and went out of their way to protect a conservative white man. Yup that tracks. @SouthwestAir is steamy, stale trash. Go out of business already.”
In a follow-up video, Jacy gave more detail, saying: “I was literally going to cry, I was about to cry. It was so embarrassing literally being slut-shamed in front of everybody.
“If it wasn’t for this lady, my angel, I love her... I reached out to her and I want to send her flowers.”
To the airlines, she said: “F**k you, Southwest.”
The Independent has contacted Southwest Airlines for comment.
In recent years there have been a spate of cases where airline staff have deemed a passenger’s clothing - usually a woman’s - “inappropriate”, resulting in them either being kicked off their flight or forced to cover up.
In January, a former Miss Universe, Olivia Culpo, was allegedly told to cover up by American Airlines staff, or risk being unable to board her flight to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.
Meanwhile, in September 2021, a US woman accused Alaska Airlines of harassment after she was removed from a flight for wearing an outfit the flight attendant deemed “inappropriate”.
Each airline worldwide is able to determine its own dress code. Some - mainly US carriers - have a “conditions of carriage” set of terms and conditions that includes dress code requirements for passengers, but many do not.
For example, Southwest Airlines’ code of conduct states: “The Carrier may refuse to transport, or remove from the aircraft at any point, any Passenger in any of the circumstances listed below ...for the comfort or safety of such Passenger or other Passengers and Crew Members“, then mentions “Persons who are barefoot” or “have an offensive odor”.
It also reserves the right to refuse to carry passengers “Engaging in lewd, obscene, or patently offensive behavior, including wearing clothes that are lewd, obscene, or patently offensive”.
